JP4909725B2 - Heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the structure to reduce thickness, as well as to establish highly efficient thermal conductivity so as to improve heat exchanging performance. <P>SOLUTION: The heat exchanger is provided with a heat exchanging medium 10, wherein wall members 11 are respectively provided with one face parallel to the fluid flow-in direction of a fluid inflow channel 17 and the other face parallel to the fluid flow-out direction of a fluid flow-out channel 18, and are thermally connected with a heat source 19 provided with a plurality of via holes 111 penetrating both surfaces. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat exchanger used for heat control of heating elements such as various electronic components including IGBT and MPU, for example.

  In general, this type of heat exchanger is performed using a heat sink made of a metal material having good thermal conductivity. Such heat sinks have various shapes such as a shape in which a large number of columnar protrusions (pin fins) are provided on the surface connected to the heat source and a plurality of metal plates (straight fins). Cooling can be promoted by enlarging the heat radiation area and promoting fluid agitation.

  Incidentally, in recent years, in electronic parts such as IGBTs and MPUs, the amount of heat generation has been rapidly increased with the increase in output and performance. Therefore, the cooling structure has been changed from natural air cooling to forced air cooling and liquid cooling. Along with this change in cooling structure, heat sink shapes have also been developed, including pin fins that have been thinned to increase the number, and straight fins that have been made thinner and narrower in space, that is, to increase the area. It is also conceivable to improve the heat dissipation performance.

  In addition, when a high degree of cooling is required, a heat exchange technique using a porous metal material such as a sintered metal or a foam metal or a micro flow path by micro processing has been developed (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document). 2). These aim at more efficient heat exchange by passing a cooling fluid through a flow path of several tens to several hundreds of micrometers, thereby thinning the temperature boundary layer and expanding the surface area.

  However, the heat exchange technology using the fine channel has various problems. Specifically, when a fluid is passed through a fine channel or a porous body, the pressure loss increases as the channel is made finer and the surface area is enlarged. For this reason, in forced air cooling using a fan instead of natural convection and liquid cooling using a liquid feeding mechanism such as a pump, a powerful fan and liquid feeding mechanism are required as pressure loss increases. This has the disadvantage of causing an increase in size / weight and cost of the entire heat exchange system.

  In addition, such a heat exchange technique also has a problem of non-uniform flow of fluid due to variations in hole diameter. For example, porous materials such as foamed metal and sintered metal having a nominal pore size of 100 microns do not have a uniform pore size, and a range of pore sizes ranging from about 50 microns or less to about 150 microns. have. In such a case, for example, there is a nine-fold difference in the hole area between a 50-micron hole and a 150-micron hole, and naturally the fluid flows preferentially through the large-area hole. Since the effect of expanding the area by making the micro-channel is large for a channel having a small pore size, a porous body having a non-uniform pore size structure with a wide pore size distribution requires a large amount of energy. Have

Furthermore, there is a need for fluid management. Appropriate management is required for the fluid that leads to the fine channel. In other words, the particles mixed in the fluid quickly block the flow path. In order to prevent blockage, a device such as providing a filter in the heat exchange system or circulating the fluid in a closed system is essential. For example, when a filter is provided, since the pore diameter is not uniform, a porous body having an average pore diameter of 100 microns is adjusted to the lower limit of the pore diameter distribution of fine pores.
A particle removal filter having the ability to remove particles below a micron is required, which is disadvantageous in that it is expensive.

As a heat exchanger using such heat exchange technology, a porous body is arranged so as to separate a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet of a container to which fluid is circulated and supplied, and the fluid passes through the porous body in the container. Thus, a container structure that performs heat exchange has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-123496

  However, the heat exchanger disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the heat transfer characteristics from the heating element are inferior due to the configuration in which the porous body is accommodated in the container, the heat exchange characteristics are deteriorated, and the size is increased. Have

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a heat exchanger that can realize a highly efficient heat conduction characteristic and a highly efficient heat exchange characteristic with a simple structure. The purpose is to do.

The present invention, a plurality of wall members, each plurality of through holes formed between the two KyoSoban is provided consecutively arranged on a surface facing via a U-shaped spacer member, said U-shaped the second spacer with the spacer member comprises a first spacer member and the second spacer member every one opening surface of the first spacer member forms a same direction as a plurality of fluid inlet opening The opening surface of the member constitutes a heat exchanger having a direction different from that of the opening surface of the first spacer member as a fluid outflow opening.

According to the above configuration, KyoSoban, wall member, the first and second spacer member, directly thermally coupled to a heat source, moreover, the wall member provided in a plurality of through holes, the wall surface Are arranged in a different direction from the fluid outflow opening and the fluid outflow opening. Accordingly, it is possible to form a heat exchange medium including a fluid inflow path and a fluid outflow path in a thin shape after realizing high efficiency heat conduction characteristics and high efficiency heat exchange characteristics.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the configuration can be simplified, the thinning can be promoted, and the heat exchange characteristics can be improved by realizing the highly efficient heat conduction characteristics. A heat exchanger can be provided.

Hereinafter, the heat exchanger according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an external configuration of a heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present invention. A heat exchange medium 10 includes, for example, six wall members 11 forming a wall in the y-axis direction as will be described later. Are arranged to face each other with a predetermined interval. The six wall members 11 arranged in a row are sandwiched at both ends by, for example, flat sandwiching plates 12 and 13 as will be described later.

  The wall member 11 is formed with a plurality of fine through-holes 111 whose hole diameters are substantially uniform and aligned in at least one direction. The wall member 11 is configured by using an anisotropic porous body having a large number of fine through holes 111 in which the hole direction is formed in parallel to the y-axis direction and the hole diameter is controlled within a certain range.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the six wall members 11 have a spacer member 14 interposed between them and the other wall member 11 adjacent to the other wall member 11. A substantially U-shaped fluid inflow passage 17 having an opening in the x-axis direction substantially parallel to the surface is formed between the surface and the surface. Then, on the other surface side of the six wall members 11, a spacer member 15 is interposed between the adjacent wall members 11 and between the one surface and the other surface of the adjacent wall member 11. In addition, a substantially U-shaped fluid outflow passage 18 having an opening in the x-axis direction substantially parallel to the surface is formed. Here, four of the six wall members 11 are shared with the wall member 11 facing the fluid inflow passage 17 and the fluid outflow passage 18 on both surfaces thereof.

  Further, the six wall members 11 arranged in a row are arranged so that the flat plate-like sandwiching plates 12 and 13 are sandwiched and arranged at both ends with the spacer member 16 between the both ends. A fluid outflow passage 18 having the above-described opening is formed by the sandwiching plates 12 and 13 and the spacer member 16 on each open side of the wall members 11 at both ends.

  In other words, the heat exchange medium 10 has a substantially U-shaped fluid inflow path in which one side is opened via the spacer members 14 and 15 on both surfaces of the six wall members 11 provided with the plurality of through holes 111. 17 and a fluid outflow passage 18 are formed. As a result, when the fluid is supplied to the fluid inflow path 17 of the six wall members 11 connected in series, the fluid passes through the through hole 111 of the wall member 11 and is discharged from the fluid outflow path 18. .

  As a result, in the heat exchange medium 10, the fluid inflow direction and the fluid outflow direction of the fluid inflow paths 17 and the fluid outflow paths 18 of the six wall members 11 are substantially orthogonal to the through holes 111, that is, with respect to the plate surface. Are arranged substantially in parallel. Thereby, the heat exchange medium 10 can set the thickness dimension of the wall member 11 in the connecting direction (the y-axis direction in the drawing) to the minimum.

  Here, the material of the wall member 11, the sandwiching plates 12, 13 and the spacer members 14, 15, 16 is preferably a material having good heat conductivity such as copper or aluminum. If it is possible to satisfy the necessary values for parameters such as length, plate thickness, and hole area ratio, and as a result, a heat resistance value required for the heat exchange medium 10 can be designed, the ease of processing and corrosion resistance In consideration of the above, other types of metal materials such as stainless steel and nickel, alloys may be used, or noble metals may be used. In addition, a semiconductor such as silicon may be used as the material, and when silicon is used, it can be processed by an etching process.

  The through-holes 111 of the wall member 11 can pass the fluid more evenly by controlling the hole diameter and keeping the hole diameter distribution in a narrow range, and can obtain a more efficient heat exchange effect. The through hole 111 of the wall member 11 is formed by a manufacturing method described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-12730 filed on April 26, 2006 by the applicant of the present application, a chemical treatment process such as etching or electroforming, or cutting by a drill. It is formed using machining processes such as machining, press machining, electric discharge machining, and laser machining.

  Moreover, the wall member 11 is effective by setting the surface area of both surfaces thereof and the total surface area of the plurality of through holes 111 to be larger than the surface area when the through holes 111 are not provided. Heat exchange can be performed.

  For example, when the through-hole 111 is formed on the wall member 11 having a plate thickness of 100 microns with a hole diameter of 100 microns and an open area ratio of about 30%, the surface area is increased by about 30% compared to the case of using the flat plate as it is. . Processing a large number of through-holes 111 of 60 microns to 120 microns can be performed relatively easily by machining. By designing with a hole diameter in this range, it is easy to design with a large value of hole length (depth) dimension / hole diameter (referred to as aspect ratio).

  When formed by photoetching, it is difficult to obtain a large aspect ratio (generally up to 1), but it has an effect that a large number of relatively accurate holes can be processed and mass production is easy.

  Further, the through-hole 111 has a plate thickness dimension of 50 microns, and when a hole with a hole diameter of 50 microns is machined at an aperture ratio of about 20%, the through-hole 111 is compared with a flat plate with a hole thickness of 100 microns. Thus, although the surface area is increased by 20%, the occupied volume required for installation becomes 1/2. With the same occupied volume, the number of wall members 11 can be doubled, and the surface area is increased by 140%. The occupied volume and the surface area affect the thickness of the wall member 11 and the fin efficiency, but it is desirable to adjust the design according to the required thermal resistance and heat exchange efficiency.

  Here, in the processing of the through hole 111 having a hole diameter of 20 to 60 microns, the minimum limit that can be processed by photoetching is around 50 microns, and if it is in the range of 50 to 60 microns, it is processed by photoetching. Is possible. Below 50 microns, it can be machined.

  Further, when the through-hole 111 having a hole diameter of 7 microns is processed on the wall member 11 having a plate thickness of 100 microns with an opening ratio of about 30%, the surface area is expanded by about 750% compared to the flat plate. The through-hole 111 of 20 microns or less is created by, for example, a molten forging method and a method using carbon fiber described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-121730 already filed by the applicant of the present invention.

  In the above configuration, the heat exchange medium 10 is arranged to be thermally coupled to the heat source 19 that is a heat exchange target, and the heat from the heat source 19 is applied to the wall member 11, the sandwiching plates 12 and 13, and the spacer members 14 and 15. , 16 are heat transferred. At the same time, fluid is supplied to the heat exchange medium 10 through the fluid inflow passage 17 formed by the six wall members 11 and the spacer members 14 and 15. Then, the fluid passes through the through hole 111 of the wall member 11 and is discharged to the fluid outflow path 18, and heat is taken from the wall member 11 and the spacer members 14 and 15 to cool the heat source 19.

  At this time, the fluid passes through the plurality of fine through holes 111 of the wall member 11 in which the hole diameters provided in the heat exchange medium 10 are substantially uniform and the hole direction is aligned in at least one direction. The pressure loss is reduced. As a result, energy consumption for heat exchange can be reduced, efficient heat exchange can be performed, and the output of forced supply means such as a pump for sending fluid and a blower can be reduced, and the heat can be reduced. Resistance can be reduced and the heat exchange medium 10 can be downsized.

  Thus, the heat exchanger has one surface parallel to the fluid inflow direction of the fluid inflow passage 17 and the other surface parallel to the fluid outflow direction of the fluid outflow passage 18, and penetrates both surfaces thereof. The heat exchange medium 10 provided with the wall member 11 thermally coupled to the heat source 19 provided with the plurality of through holes 111 was provided.

  According to this, the wall member 11 of the heat exchange medium 10 is directly thermally coupled to the heat source 19, and both surfaces on which the plurality of through holes 111 are formed are in the fluid outflow direction and the fluid discharge direction. It is arrange | positioned substantially parallel with respect. As a result, it is possible to form the heat exchange medium 10 including the fluid inflow path 17 and the fluid outflow path 18 in a thin shape after realizing high efficiency heat conduction characteristics and high efficiency heat exchange characteristics. It becomes.

  Here, the heat exchange medium 10 includes a fluid supply means for forcibly supplying a fluid, whereby the fluid can be efficiently exchanged, and the heat exchange efficiency can be further improved. It becomes possible. For example, when gas is used as the fluid, it is configured as shown in FIG.

  That is, an air filter 20 is attached to the fluid inflow path 17 of the heat exchange medium 10, and a cooling fan 21 is attached to the fluid outflow path 18. The cooling fan 21 is driven, for example, at the time of heat exchange. With the driving, the cooling fan 21 sucks air through the air filter 20 and forcibly supplies it to the fluid inflow path 17. The air supplied to the fluid inflow path 17 is forcibly discharged from the fluid outflow path 18 by the cooling fan 21 through the through hole 111 of the wall member 11, and exchanges heat with the heat transferred to the wall member 11. Can be executed more efficiently. Here, the air filter 20 prevents dust and dirt from entering the through hole 111 of the wall member 11 to prevent the blockage.

  The cooling fan 21 may be disposed on the air inflow side without being disposed on the air outflow side. In this case, the air filter 20 is arranged so that the air passes before the air flows into the heat exchange medium 10.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the heat exchange medium 30 may be configured as shown in, for example, FIGS. However, in this thru | or FIG. 8, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same part as the said FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 4, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  That is, in the heat exchange medium 30 according to this embodiment, the spacer member 31 is interposed between the six wall members 11 and the adjacent wall member 11, and the wall member 11 adjacent to one surface of the spacer member 31 is interposed. A substantially U-shaped fluid inflow passage 32 having openings at both ends in the x-axis direction substantially parallel to the other surface is formed between the other surface. And the spacer member 33 is interposed between one surface of the adjacent wall member 11 on the other surface side adjacent to the six wall members 11, and the wall member 11 adjacent to the one surface A fluid outflow path 34 having an opening in the z-axis direction substantially parallel to the surface is formed between the other surface. Here, in the four adjacent wall members 11 among the six wall members 11, the fluid inflow passages 32 and the fluid outflow passages 34 on both surfaces thereof are shared with the opposing wall members 11.

  Further, the six wall members 11 arranged in a row are arranged such that the two sandwich plates 12 and 13 are sandwiched and disposed with a predetermined interval through a spacer member 35, and the wall members at both ends thereof. The fluid outflow passages 34 having openings at both ends described above are formed on the respective open sides of 11.

  In this heat exchange medium 30, the end of the wall member 11, the sandwiching plates 12, 13 and the spacer members 31, 33, 35 on the base end side of the fluid outflow path 34 is thermally coupled to the heat source 19. The heat source 19 directly transfers heat to the wall member 11, the sandwiching plates 12 and 13, and the spacer members 31, 33, and 35 for heat exchange.

  At the same time, the heat exchange medium 30 is supplied with fluid into the fluid inflow passage 32 formed by the six wall members 11 and the spacer members 31, 33, and 35. This fluid passes through the through-hole 111 of the wall member 11 and is discharged to the fluid outflow path 34, which takes heat from the wall member 11 and the spacer members 31, 33, and 35 and cools the heat source 19.

  Also in the heat exchange medium 30 according to this embodiment, when the fluid supply means is disposed, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the fan 21 is disposed on the fluid outflow path side, and the opening side of the fluid inflow path 32 is provided. For example, an air filter (not shown) is arranged in the apparatus so that air is forcibly supplied. Thereby, similarly, it becomes possible to more efficiently execute heat exchange with the heat transferred to the wall member 11, the sandwiching plates 12, 13 and the spacer members 31, 33, 35.

  As an arrangement position of the cooling fan 21 and the air filter (not shown), the cooling fan 21 may be arranged on the air inflow side of the heat exchange medium 30. In this case, the air filter (not shown) is arranged to pass through before the air flows into the heat exchange medium 30.

  According to the above configuration, the cooling fan 21 can be disposed to face the heat source to which the heat exchange medium 30 is thermally coupled, so that, for example, a cooling structure for an electronic component such as an MPU disposed in an electronic device. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to high output of electronic parts.

  Furthermore, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the heat exchange media 10 and 30 are configured by arranging and arranging the six wall members 11 in a row has been described. It is also possible to configure using the wall member 11, and the same effect is expected.

  The fluid inflow passages 17 and 32 and the fluid outflow passages 18 and 34 provided on both surfaces of the wall member 11 are not limited to the opening positions described in the above embodiments, and other spacers disposed between the wall members 11. By variably setting the shape and assembly arrangement position of the member, it is possible to set the opening positions of the fluid inflow path and the fluid outflow path in various directions, and the same effective effect is expected.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the fluid supply means is configured to forcibly supply gas air has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the liquid supply means may be configured to supply liquid. Is also possible.

  Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention at the stage of implementation. Further, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements.

  For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect described in the effect of the invention can be obtained. In such a case, a configuration in which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

It is the perspective view which showed the external appearance structure of the heat exchanger which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the AA cross section of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the BB cross section of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the state which assembled | attached the fluid supply means to the heat exchange medium of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the heat exchanger which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the AA cross section of FIG. It is sectional drawing which showed the BB cross section of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the state which assembled | attached the fluid supply means to the heat exchange medium of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Heat exchange medium, 11 ... Wall member, 111 ... Through-hole, 12, 13 ... Clamping plate, 14, 15, 16 ... Spacer member, 17 ... Fluid inflow path, 18 ... Fluid outflow path, 19 ... Heat source, 20 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Air filter, 21 ... Cooling fan, 30 ... Heat exchange medium, 31, 33, 35 ... Spacer member, 32 fluid inflow path, 34 ... Fluid outflow path.

Claims (6)

  A plurality of wall members each having a plurality of through holes formed between two sandwiching plates are arranged to face each other through a U-shaped spacer member, and one U-shaped spacer member is provided. The first spacer member and the second spacer member are arranged, and the opening surface of the first spacer member has the same orientation as a plurality of fluid inflow openings, and the opening surface of the second spacer member is a fluid. A heat exchanger characterized in that the outflow opening has a different direction from the opening surface of the first spacer member. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein an opening surface of the second spacer member is opposite to an opening surface of the first spacer member . The heat exchanger of claim 1 Symbol mounting, characterized in that a direction opening surface of the second spacer member is perpendicular to the opening surface of the first spacer member. The through hole diameter is substantially uniformly formed, and the heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 3 hole direction are formed in substantially the same and said Rukoto. The heat exchanger according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in Rukoto comprising a fluid supply means for forcibly passing the fluid in one of said fluid inlet opening or the fluid outlet opening. Said wall member, to set the two-sided and the plurality of through-holes of total diameter of the through hole to be larger than the case of not providing the plurality of through-holes of the surface area, depth and aperture ratio The heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein

Images